Compromising Circumstances (R)- Final Update & PDF (July 19th,11)

[ChlexOwnsAll_]

Loved it. Thanks for updating, can't wait for the next chapter!

[somethingeasy]

“We didn't have to dine out tonight, Lex. You're under no obligation to entertain me if you have other things on your mind- if there's something else you'd rather be doing,” she said casually, proud of her new-found confidence; the old Chloe would have panicked wondering if he'd already got bored with her. There was no fear of that being the case, judging by the way he'd made love to her on the hearthrug last night. The heat they'd generated together had rivalled the fire roaring in the living-room of his penthouse.

Lex didn't seem to be aware of her, she realised broodingly. He was staring at a point over her head, totally focused on someone or something else. A corporate rival? Another woman? She felt a piercing thrust of possessiveness, even though the notion that anyone would ever be allowed to possess Alexander Luthor was completely absurd.

I loved this latest chapter. I loved how it started highlighting the contradicting and paradoxical mix of confidence and insecurities that Chloe feels with regards to her ‘fling’ with Lex Luthor. She’s confident in her qualities as a highly desirable woman and sexual partner with him, BUT she’s still convinced that she would never have anything truly substantial or permanent with Lex beyond a fling.

Which is possible why she’s in a state of mind where a fling and only a fling is the kind of relationship that she would consider with Lex right now? Because even the possibility of anything more would send her into an anxiety filled panic. She just doesn’t, yet, trust Lex to THAT extent… to the extent of musing over him as a real potential partner. I love that!

Gingerly, she turned slightly to her left and casually swept the room with her hazel green eyes. Nobody stood out. There was neither a businessman glaring daggers at him nor a gorgeous brunette radiating any special glow. Could it be she'd let her overwrought imagination run wild? No, she wasn't mistaken. The expression she saw on his face as she turned back to him reminded her of his look when they'd shaken hands in her office that very first day. There was a cold cruelty in the harsh set of his mouth and a look of utter contempt in his intense blue-grey eyes which made her shiver. Then he tore his gaze away from whomever had riveted it and he focused it on Chloe again. The change in his demeanour was extraordinary. Although he didn't smile, the warmth of his gentle regard felt like a physical caress.

squeee! I loved this! This was the perfect way to show exactly how and why Chloe does NOT fully trust Lex, and cannot consider anything more than a ‘fling’ with him. The way that he can inexplicable shift back ad forth between such extreme emotional states would be highly unnerving… especially since Chloe, right now, feels that she cannot look much beyond his controlled façade and figure out the causes behind those emotional states. It’s kind of akin to having a fling with someone with a multiple personality disorder… highly unpredictable as well as not completely stable.

It definitely didn’t help when Lex suddenly changed his mind about dining in this restaurant, and started to drag her out… without providing any explanation why. All in all, it was actually a GOOD thing that Rachel spotted Lex, and stopped him to taunt at him. Otherwise Chloe would have been left completely confused about Lex’s reactions for the evening, and would have viewed his behaviour as irrational, and therefore deemed him untrustworthy, unstable and unreliable.

“I must admit I was surprised when your name was linked to Queen's grieving widow. She's got the wrong colouring- I seem to recall your mother was a brunette,” she sneered at Chloe. “You see darling, Alexander adored his mommy. He was almost... unnaturally... attached to her apron strings. So don't get your hopes up; you're just one of a passing parade because what he's really after is a nice, safe, maternal womb to crawl back into.”

“Mother, I think that's enough,” said the wavy-haired twenty-something at her table.

“Yes, Rachel, I believe your son's right. You wouldn't like to make a scene in front of half of the most influential businesspeople in Metropolis, would you? It'd be bad PR and God knows it's the last thing you need right now,” replied Lex, seemingly untouched by the older woman's venom. “I heard the Board of Directors is thinking about making some changes. Isn't that so, Lucas?” he added, shifting his attention to the sober-faced man.

“Lucas?” frowned Lionel Luthor's widow.

“I should have known it,” said Lucas in a low voice, shaking his head.

“What is it that you should have known?” slurred LuthorCorp's CEO.

squeeee! This was brilliant! I loved it! This was an amazing, interesting and compelling way to introduce a little more about Lex’s background and family history. It was also a great introduction to the remains of Lex’s family, discovering what a horrible miserable and nasty relationship he has with them. And also how how miserable Rachel and Lucas appear to be with each other too. This is NOT a healthy family from any angle whatsoever.

It’s fascinating to find out that Lucas was actually made the legitimate heir to Lionel’s empire, in all regards, including Lionel’s marriage to Rachel. So now we see that Lucas was definitely NOT raised as an orphan in this universe… and yet, the poor boy still seems to lead a desperately unhappy life. Poor thing.

I think it might actually be a toss up as to whose life was actually more miserable. The older brother, or the younger brother… who had the suckier childhood?

In any case, I really appreciated this introduction, and the revelations about exactly what kind of life Lex led under Rachel’s ‘doting parentage’ when he was torn away from Lillian. It must have been horrific for Lex to have been taken away from his loving environment, and taken to a place filled with such poisonous hatred and resentment.

“You wanted me to meet her, didn't you?” she said bluntly. “That's the reason you picked this restaurant. You knew they were going to be here.”

“Yes. But when I actually saw them sit down at their usual table I realised I didn't want you anywhere near her vileness. I wish I could have spared you that scene but there was no way out of that restaurant except to pass by their table.”

“Why? Why did you decide to do it tonight of all nights? I'm not a fool, Lex. Something big happened back there and she was a clueless as I am. You'll have to level with me; you owe me that much.”

“I wanted you to see her... to see what she was like. I wanted you to understand.”

heeee! I noted, earlier in this review, that one of the main reasons why Chloe would not consider Lex for anything more meaningful or substantial than ‘a fling’ is specifically because she doesn’t fully know or understand him. She cannot predict what he’s going to do, understand what he’s thinking and therefore cannot rely on him as a fully trusted partner.

I find it VERY interesting that Lex wished to reveal himself, his whole ugly background, rearing and family relations, to Chloe. He’s very obviously and overtly trying to help Chloe know and understand him in full. Now the only question is… why is he doing that!!! Is he desperately hoping that she would begin to trust him enough for ‘something more’ to develop between them, because he sees the potential for a true, loving and stable relationship between them. OR, is he only trying to get her trust and confidence, for some nefarious purposes…?

aaaaargh! See, this is the crux of the problem… Lex HIDES away to damned much to be truly trustworthy. Even when he’s (apparently) trying to be open, he still has this secretive tone that makes one wonder about his true motivations.

“I know that you're driven, and that you want that woman to pay somehow for everything that you, your mother and Pamela went through when she entered your father's life. I do understand your motivations, but I'm afraid of what this might do to you. I saw a sick woman eaten up with hatred and I'd loathe to see you finish up like that. I know how poisonous resentment can be; it almost destroyed me, Lex.”

I loved this little speech from Chloe. It came from a genuine place of affection and concern for Lex. Chloe delivered this speech, not to her lover, or potential business partner… but to Lex as his friend. And I think Lex would have seen that, and would have been genuinely touched by it… whatever his motivations about Chloe right now.

Eventually her frustration reached its breaking point three months after Lillian's demise. With her personal physician's complicity and some very clever disparaging remarks about Lex's late mother to have the child snap, Rachel ended up convincing her husband the boy should be shipped away to Excelsior to free her from the stressful environment that was putting the new and still unborn baby Luthor at risk.

ooooh, now this was intriguing and interesting. I can sense a deeper story behind these words. Was Lex goaded into somehow attacking his little brother while he was still in the cradle?!?? Or did he act out in some other way that convinced Lionel that Lex might actually try to hurt a newborn…?

Despite the way the night had begun, Chloe couldn't help but appreciate how vulnerable he allowed himself to be around her. She knew Jason and those who didn't know him beyond his business persona might see a hidden agenda in his confession, maybe a plan to soften her up and manipulate her into doing his will, but Chloe chose to believe he felt comfortable and secure enough around her to let the mask slip on occasion. The thought made her feel special... it made their relationship special.

This was exactly what Lex had actually planned in the first place, when bringing Chloe to this restaurant… that’s a given certainty. The only question is to his motivations for making Chloe feel that their relationship was deepening and evolving somehow. WHY did he do that?!? To actually deepen their relationship, or just to win her trust?!

“This is about Lex again, isn't it?” she asked tightly.

“I hate to do this to you now, Chloe. You look happy... He seems to make you happy and there's no one I know who deserves to be happier than you. But, Chloe, a leopard can't change its spots.”

I know that I probably should be irritated by the way that Jason just keeps repeating his distrust of Lex over and over again… and yet… I really don’t! I know that it comes from a place of genuine love and concern. I know that Jason doesn’t personally resent Lex, but only worries about what an ambitious, cunning and ruthless person like that might do to Chloe. His priority is Chloe, and NOT some kind of personal vendetta against Lex himself, and that makes all the difference.

“As of yesterday Rachel Dunleavy is risking losing her chairperson status at the board of LuthorCorp. Her boy's expensive addiction is going to cost her dearly... Lucas lost all his Luthorcorp shares- thirty percent of the total- at a poker table two nights ago.”

I should have known it.

What is it that you should have known?

ooooh, now that we see the true meaning behind Lex’s taunts to Lucas and Rachel, now we see how actually cold, cutting and underhanded those taunts actually were. Rachel might have started the taunting, with a really low reference to Lex’s ‘mommy issues’, BUT Lex struck pretty low himself with his comments as well. Ouch!

“Open it. I found it among Oliver's papers. I still don't know how I found that particular needle in the haystack that is his archive, if you can call it like that. Oliver was never good at filing.”

Chloe unfolded the enclosed paper and read the contents more than once.

“If what I suspect turns out to be true- that that gambler was paid by Grierson to rip off Lucas Luthor's stock- then this is the only thing that stands in his way to getting the control of LuthorCorp.”

aaaargh! What’s on that damned paper?!???? Somehow, Queen industries holds to key to Lex’s takeover of LuthorCorp?! how the heck does that work out?!???

“I swear to you I didn't or I would have told you sooner. There's a good chance he's just using you, Chloe.”

She had to admit that the evidence looked pretty condemning but she wasn't about to commit the same mistake Lex had made when it came to her. She wasn't the naïve girl she had once been; however, she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. The chance to uncover the truth would come soon enough.

heh… I find it very interesting that Chloe says that she’s not naïve, in the same line that she says that she’s giving Lex ‘the benefit of the doubt’. The two sentiments should be contradictory, but I DO know what she means nonetheless. She’s talking about not jumping to the worst conclusions possible.. about gathering ALL the information possible about the situation before making her final assessments. It’s actually a good stance.

They were meeting tonight. Dinner and... Well, she shouldn't find the word 'Sex' so odd. After all, that was what they'd been having for the last few months. ´Love´ involved deep feelings, a close attachment and some kind of commitment. They hadn't been making love because they weren't in love. What they had was just a fling. The perfect arrangement to ensure nobody would end up getting hurt.

I really appreciated how this final paragraph summed up perfectly exactly why Chloe would NOT consider a true relationship with Lex, as apposed to the ‘fun fling’ that they’ve been enjoying. I also like how there’s a possible thread of denial now interwoven into Chloe’s reassurances to herself that she was not, Not, NOT ‘making love’ to Lex. They were only involved in a ‘perfect arrangement’, that was controlled, temporary and ultimately, not emotionally deep or important. And that might even actually be the truth… for Chloe… for now.

I can’t wait to see how this fic progresses… Please update soon!

[ChloeLovesLex]

Chapter 5 - Wow. What a terrible day Chloe was having. Jeesh! I'd have been in a fit of tears by the end.
Lex was being kind of pushy on the security, but I understand, he wanted her safe. We all know that when you push Chloe, she pushes back. He'll need to learn that.
The kiss...wow. Oh my. Very nice. I understand Chloe being suspicious though. Lex's response to it was perfect though. Mwahahaha!

Chapter 6 - Lex's identity finally explained. I like it. Nice touch.
Good to see Chloe decide to gain some of herself back. Excited to read the next chapter.

[lexie]

A/N: A clarification before sharing the new chapter.

Was Lex goaded into somehow attacking his little brother while he was still in the cradle?!?? Or did he act out in some other way that convinced Lionel that Lex might actually try to hurt a newborn…?

Lex didn't attack his half-brother in the cradle, as a matter of fact, Lucas hadn't been born yet when Rachel had Lex shipped to Excelsior. She simply taunted Lex enough to have him "explode", maybe snap at her and throw some tantrums, sufficient artillery to convince Lionel the stressful atmosphere wasn't appropriate for her pregnancy: "Eventually her frustration reached its breaking point three months after Lillian's demise. With her personal physician's complicity and some very clever disparaging remarks about Lex's late mother to have the child snap, Rachel ended up convincing her husband the boy should be shipped away to Excelsior to free her from the stressful environment that was putting the new and still unborn baby Luthor at risk."

Now, here's Chapter 10. There's not too much left- two chapters or a long one and an epilogue. Enjoy!


CHAPTER 10: Blinders

LEX'S PENTHOUSE- METROPOLIS

It was past midnight and Chloe was now partaking of a snifter of Lex's best brandy sitting barefoot in the sofa while he stoked the embers with a poker, crouching down in front of the fireplace to avert his eyes from hers.

Chloe could recognise his body posture for what it was, a defensive gesture to deal with something he found difficult to share with her. This was no longer LexCorp's CEO, the cold and fearless businessman who would look at his interlocutor straight in the eye to close a deal, to threaten him or to challenge him to pick up a gauntlet. This was just Lex, the man behind close doors, the one only she was allowed to see, so Chloe knew something momentous was about to happen. And that knowledge was both exhilarating and terrifying. She wanted to know, needed him to tell her it wasn't the contents of the envelope he'd always been after. And yet, she'd done her best to avoid bringing up the issue all night because she was afraid of his answer and how it'd affect them.

“When I was younger all I could think of was how to prove everyone I didn't need my father's name or money to be someone. I intended to show him and the world who was the better man. As a teenager and well into my twenties I was very wary of the kind of woman who moves in wealthy circles. I was more than aware of the corruptive nature of money and power. Most of the women I've dated remind me too much of Rachel: selfish, superficial, restless, emotionally dead creatures only interested in seeing their own avaricious dreams fulfilled. The sort of woman one can use to adorn one's arm or to bed one night but that should never be allowed to come close enough to find a chink in one's armour they can exploit.”

Chloe took another sip of the wood-flavoured liquid, felt it warm her sinews and give her courage to sit through whatever confession he seemed to be ready to make. She waited patiently for him to continue and curved her urge to fill in the silence.

“Ironically, the closer I got to LuthorCorp the more unfulfilled I felt. I started wondering what I would do after I'd achieved everything I'd had worked for for so long. I've been surrounded by hungry piranhas all my life... I've never lacked female company but I'd never been able to establish a meaningful connection with the opposite sex... “ he said, making a short pause to add quietly, “Until you.”

Two simple words. Two words which turned her world upside down.

Chloe began to tremble as the air around them became charged with a tension he made no effort to conceal. There was no mistaking what he was telling her.. .the smouldering look of his blue-grey eyes as they drifted from her flushed cheeks to the rounded thrust of her luscious breasts made his meaning very explicit. He lusted for her but what she read in his eyes was so much more than what she'd ever expected to find there.

“I had no idea who you were when you walked into that elevator,” he said, returning the poker to its stand.“And it wasn't until a week before we met again that I discovered your true identity. Imagine my surprise when I learnt I'd spent three months lusting wildly after a woman who I'd not only seen once in my life but with whom I was to have business dealings... The widow of a man I'd considered my enemy for years and then my partner against a common foe,” he added, holding her gaze with the power of his own. “Crossing paths with you made me accept that, despite my cynicism when it came to women, I still had some illusions left. And seeing the image of that fantasy woman crushed and replaced by another Rachel- greedy, amoral and untrustworthy- was a heavy blow; it reminded me why I shouldn't let my guard down. So I decided then and there that someone other than me was going to suffer for that betrayal. When I walked into your office at Queen Industries that first day I fully intended to raid the company and ruin you... Oliver's young and expensive wife who played around... and was probably one of the main reasons he'd felt the need to escape... and ultimately destroy himself in much the same way my mother had because of my father and another selfish and destructive woman.”

Chloe knew his early opinion of her was mistaken and yet here he was rehashing that memory, seemingly relishing his original plan to avenge his mother by lashing out at his old-enemy-turned-ally's wife as the embodiment of everything that he deemed poisonous in the opposite sex. What had she unleashed by taking him into her body? What would he do with the power that she had given him-over herself and over other women? Was she just an instrument of his revenge as Jason had feared?

Her first impulse was to cater for her own self-preservation, to protect herself from the final thrust of his sword, and she did the unexpected; instead of facing the music the way Chloe Sullivan would, she tried to escape in true Chloe Queen fashion- that was how much her marriage to Oliver and her years of sacrifice at both her husband and her best friend's altar had changed her. She got as far as the living-room archway before she stopped herself.

“It's too late to run, Chloe. It was already too late the day we met.”

She felt his breath warm against the nape of her neck, which she'd left exposed by doing her hair up in an attempt to look elegant and sophisticated, but tonight the usual confidence trick wasn't working.

“'I can't let you leave thinking that I have everything I want from you because I don't. I tried to fight this thing between us in the beginning, but it was a lost battle as soon as I got to know the passionate and caring woman behind the mask, who was, like me, trying so desperately not to be, not to need or to want..... ” he said quietly, moving closer so that she felt him all the way down her spine.

Chloe felt herself starting to melt as the wistful words wrapped themselves around her heart, depriving her lungs of oxygen to breath and muddling her brain now incapable of assimilating this startling new development. Were the vapours of the brandy she'd imbibed playing tricks on her senses? He sounded almost as if he... as if... No, it was impossible. It couldn't be.

“I should go,”she said weakly.

“Is it really what you want?” he asked thickly, locking his eyes with hers as he looked at their reflection in the mirror in front of them.

Chloe couldn't tell who moved first but one moment she was leaving and the next she was lost in his arms, their lips fused in a scorching kiss.

His long-fingered hands moved over her back and the constriction in her chest eased as they slowly parted the zip to bare her creamy skin and then dipped down to press into the dimples at the base of her spine. Her body reacted arching slightly, allowing the slippery fabric of her dress to slide to the top of her breasts. His taste exploded in her mouth, intoxicating and warming, and the air filled with rough, greedy and indistinct sounds that were as much his as hers. They consumed each other with the passion of their lips, tongues and the occasional playful nip of their teeth.

Chloe felt her doubts and fears slide away, as it happened whenever he took her in his arms. She moaned when, after drinking his full from her parted mouth, Lex shifted his attention to the exposed slopes of her breasts, slowly dragging aside the camisole that was all she wore under the bodice of her dress and eliciting husky sounds of sensual abandonment from her lips as she tried to get him to relieve her aching mounds.

The wait not only heightened her excitement but also affected him, judging by the evidence of his aching desire, which teased her as he subtly manouvred them towards the sofa. Finally, he touched her rigid and rosy peaks with his gentle tongue, flexing his thighs languidly between hers, teasing her until the soft, rhythmic suckling and the gentle friction against her bundle of nerves pooled the piercing sweetness from her swollen breasts to her palpitating centre. Soon her moans and her hands working on his blue dress shirt as well as his trousers made him lose his trademark cool control and distracted him from his studied moves. Shaking just as much as her when the need to be one became urgent, he paused to lock his eyes with hers and, sliding a hand up her smooth bare leg, he took her at last, careless of the clothes that bunched between them, focused only on her and the driving force that had conquered them both.

Three-quarters of an hour later, after a quiet aftermath, a glowing but still very confused Chloe began to straighten her twisted dress and blushed when Lex pressed a soft kiss on her left shoulder as he calmly zipped her back up.

“It's late,” she murmured awkwardly.

“Stay,” he told her softly.

“I...I can't... I still have a lot of studying to do.”

“'I could help you study,” he offered with a diffidence that didn't quite mask the frustration in his voice.

Chloe saw the determination in his eyes but she had let passion override common sense . No matter how strong her urge to stay, she had to walk away. Things had got too complicated all of a sudden.

“Thank you, Lex, but no. I really do need some proper rest,” she replied, picking up her clutch and her overcoat. “I.. I'll call you tomorrow...”

“How long do you think you can keep on doing this, Chloe?” he asked in a controlled voice.

“What do you mean?” she frowned.

“You know what I mean. It takes a survivor to recognise another. I know you're scared but running away won't solve anything.”

“What do you want from me, Lex?”

“I don't think you need me to answer that question. You know.”

“No, I don't. How can I when you don't speak clearly?”

“I'm not a machine, Chloe. And, despite the blood that runs through my veins, I'm still human. You can't expect me to put everything on the line without some guarantee. But, deep down you know what it is because it's the same thing you want, you just can't allow yourself to admit it.”

“Why?”

“Why?” he cocked an eyebrow.

“It wasn't... it wasn't supposed to be like this. We're having an affair; that's what you wanted... That's what we agreed. You weren't supposed to... You just can't... You thinking that you're in love with me... is just...'”

“I know I'm not the most worthy of men...”

“This has nothing to do with you not being worthy. That's nonsense.”

“Then, what do you mean? That you don't deserve to be happy?”

Chloe moistened her dry lips. “You don't love me, Lex,”she protested huskily. If she accepted the validity of his emotions then she would have to question her own. Her marriage to Oliver bore no resemblance whatsoever to the exhausting storms of rage and delight that confused her when Lex was taunting or arousing her, the selfish abandonment and reckless passion that led her to lose all sense of shame and propriety. That was why she knew that what they had couldn't be love. Not any kind of love that she recognised, anyway.

“Tell yourself that often enough and you might believe it,” he murmured sardonically.

“I don't want you to love me.”

“Don't you?”

Two words. A simple question which terrified her.

“It's far too soon... I never thought I... I thought that you... You said you weren't going to ask for my love!”

“That was then. The rules have changed. I am thirty-three, not seventeen. This isn't a teenage infatuation that I'm going to outgrow. If you need more time to think about it, I'll back off for a while. But I'm not planning on giving up on us. It's time you stopped lying to yourself repeating like a mantra a fling's all that you want...”

TBC

[hfce]

You tell her Lex. It is love Chloe just stop fighting it.

[ChloeLovesLex]

I'm with hfce on this one. You tell her Lex!!!
You can't fight it Chloe, he's all you want and need and vice versa. Give in and finally be happy, the pair of you.

[skatiefan]

Love the update Lexie! I agree with everyone......it's about time Lex told Chloe. She needs to stop fighting their love for each other. Can't wait for the next update....more please!! =)

[niafadra]

so its coming to a close, that sure will be a bittersweet moment, still i am excited to see how it will all play out

[FarrahLea]

Awesome update Lexie! I am so happy that it is Lex that is admitting things first. Can't wait for the next update.

[justicea]

thats right lex, go for what you want! she loves him and i love this story. Can't wait for the next update!